People

Nancy J. Cox, PhD

Professor of Medicine

Division of Genetic Medicine

Director, Vanderbilt Genetics Institute

Mary Phillips Edmonds Gray Professor of Genetics

Department of Medicine Diversity Liaison

Nancy Cox completed her PhD in Human Genetics at Yale University in 1982 under the direction of Kenneth K. Kidd, and did post -doctoral research at Washington University in Psychiatric Genetics (1982-1985) and with Richard Spielman and Warren Ewens at the University of Pennsylvania (1985-1987), before joining the University of Chicago in 1987, where she rose through the ranks to become a tenured Professor in the University of Chicago Department of Human Genetics and Section Chief of the Section of Genetic Medicine, with joint appointments in both the Departments of Human Genetics and Medicine. 

After 28 years at the University of Chicago, Dr. Cox joined Vanderbilt University in 2015 as the Mary Phillips Edmonds Gray Professor of Genetics and the founding Director of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute and Director of the Division of Genetic Medicine. Dr. Cox has extensive experience in directing educational programs in human genetics and in administering training grants. 

Dr. Cox is a Fellow of the AAAS and was President of the American Society of Human Genetics in 2017 (a post limited to 1 year). Dr. Cox was Editor-in-Chief for the journal Genetic Epidemiology from 2005-2011 and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Human Genetics (2010-2012 and 2016-2018). She was a co-winner of the Landon Award in 2008 from the American Association for Cancer Research and was honored with the Leadership Award from the International Genetic Epidemiology Society in 2010, was named as a Pritzker Scholar in 2012, earned a Distinguished Faculty Award from the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago in 2013, was given the Golden Key Award from the University of Chicago in 2015, and was awarded the Richard C. Caprioli Award for Enhancing the Science of Others in 2017 for her work developing the genetics of the BioVU biobank. She served terms as a standing member of the Mammalian Genetics Study Section and the CIDR Study Section, as well as a term on the NHGRI Board of Scientific Counselors.  

Martha Dudek, MS, LCGC

Assistant Associate Professor

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Martha Dudek completed her Master of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1996, and her undergraduate work at Washington University in St. Louis in 1996. Between undergraduate and graduate school, she completed one year in a molecular research lab at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in the Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Steven Scholnick’s lab was examining loss of heterozygosity in head and neck cancers. At the University of Cincinnati for her thesis she assessed the self-perception of carriers for hemophilia through standardized measures and a unique survey.  

Since attaining her Master’s degree Ms. Dudek has worked as a genetic counselor in the areas of reproductive medicine, pediatric and adult genetics. In 2001, Ms. Dudek joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University where she has held various academic and clinical leadership roles in her over 20 years. In 2008 Ms. Dudek became the first genetic counselor to achieve licensure in the state of Tennessee after spearheading efforts to pass legislation in the state to licensed genetic counselors.  

In 2016, Ms. Dudek led the faculty in the process of building an accredited genetic counseling training program. The Master of Genetic Counseling degree program is housed in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and was accredited in 2019 by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling and Ms. Dudek serves as the founding Program Director. 

In 2020, Ms. Dudek was recognized for her teaching in the classroom by her students and faculty with the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute’s award for Excellence in Teaching Award. For her development of the Master of Genetic Counseling she was awarded the Jacek Hawiger, M.D. Ph.D. Award for Teaching Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in the Classroom, Lecture, or Small Group Setting, Vanderbilt University. In 2020 she was inducted into the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Academy for Excellence in Education. 

Ms. Dudek has also volunteered on regional and national committees of the Tennessee Genetic Counselor Association, Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling, Association Genetic Counseling Program Directors, National Society of Genetic Counselors serving as President for the Tennessee Genetic Counselor Association for two terms. As a site visitor for the ACGC, Ms. Dudek has servedlead on 12 multiple site team vvisitors, leading 8 of the teams.